Guest Column: Bush is the only man to lead our nation

JUDY STEVANOVICHSt. Augustine

Published Sunday, October 03, 2004

When you consider the negative books, the movies and now the mainstream media releasing false information to try to sway this election for John Kerry, it is disgusting. Kerry, his Democratic 527s, and the left-wing media will do anything, including lying, to win this election. However, voters are smarter than we are being given credit for.

Kerry has been in the Senate for 20 years and has done nada, zip, nothing. He has sponsored no meaningful legislation in 20 years -- nothing for health care, education or the other issues that he is now trying to convince voters he will address. If he is so concerned about the outsourcing of jobs, why doesn't he tell Ms. Heinz-Kerry to move some of the 80 percent of Heinz jobs that are overseas to the U.S.?He's probably concerned that she will tell him to "shove it." He has a liberal voting record, with a penchant for increasing taxes and reducing defense and intelligence spending. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he missed 76 percent of the meetings, including every meeting the year after the first World Trade Center bombing. The previous administration knew about Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, and al-Qaida for its entire term of office. For eight years it did nothing to address the issue and reduced our military forces to a fraction of what they were before Clinton took office. Because of the previous administration's inaction, 9-11 occurred only eight months after George Bush took office.

Kerry knows he has done nothing for the past 20 years, so he wants to run on his four- month Vietnam tour because he is a supposed war hero. At the Democratic National Convention he said, "My name is John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty."

With a father who was a decorated World War II Veteran and a brother who served a full tour in Vietnam, I have the right to say John Kerry's service was in my estimation anything but honorable. He enlisted only after his requested deferment to study in Paris was denied. He racked up three purple hearts for surface wounds that were treated with a Band-Aid and bacitracin and left his unit in four months. He did not refuse the medals so he could stay and complete his tour with his unit as others did. He had the video footage and medals he needed for his already stated political ambitions and when he found himself in the heat of battle, he ucked tail and ran If that wasn't despicable enough, he then came back and opposed the war -- one of many flip-flops in his adult life.His testimony before the Senate in 1971 was used against our POWS and resulted in them being tortured even more. His testimony resulted in returning troops being spat upon. And then he had the audacity to meet with the enemy in Paris while we still had troops in Vietnam. Why? For nothing but self-aggrandizement. He had no concern for how his actions would impact our POWs and the troops in Vietnam. He has refused to release his military records. Why? Could the latest rumor that Kerry did not receive an honorable discharge until Bill Clinton intervened in 2000, have anything to do with his not releasing his records? Do these records substantiate that John Kerry's actions after returning from Vietnam make him ineligible to be a senator and certainly make him ineligible to be president?

The Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 in part states: "No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress or elector of president and vice president, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, (who has) engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid to the enemy."

And then we have his actions during this election. He declares entertainers that defile our current president with crude gestures and words as having the values that are "the heart and soul" of America. These are not the values we need in the president and are certainly not the values of the majority of Americans. We then hear him say one thing one day and the very next day change his position. He's for the war; he's against the war. He wants voters to believe that he will help them get ahead and realize their dreams. If John Kerry and his running mate are supposed to be our role models in how to get ahead, heaven help us. John Kerry's answer: Marry wealth; he's done it twice; John Edwards' answer: sue your way to wealth and help to create the health care crisis we have today.

The Democratic 527s have spent over $70 million trying to discredit President Bush. That hasn't worked and now John Kerry wants us to once again question President Bush's National Guard Service 30-plus years ago. They have created false documents to aid their cause. The heart of the matter is -- so what? George Bush was honorably discharged. His records have been released. Once again, Mr. Kerry, where are your records?

While John Kerry feels he has to go back 35 years to find something to help him be elected, we don't have to go back 35 years for President Bush. We have four years where we have seen principle-centered leadership, high morals, a belief in God and a willingness to stand up to terrorism. We may not agree with everything that George Bush has done but we are now fighting terrorists on their land -- not ours. There are fewer of the Taliban and al-Qaida than there were four years ago. Over 50 million citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan are now free. Despite the fact that George Bush inherited the economic crisis from the previous administration, thanks to his tax cuts and other programs, the economy is rebounding.

Kerry wants to tell minorities that he will be there for them if he is elected. Words are one thing -- action is another. George Bush has demonstrated his commitment to diversity -- just look at his Cabinet -- the most diverse in U. S. history. Kerry does not have a plan for this country. George Bush does. While there are many issues, the No. 1 issue for this election, the most important in our lifetime, is security from terrorism. Without this, many Americans will not be around to care about the other issues.

John Kerry has proven in over 35 years that he does not have the leadership skills, the decision-making ability, the fortitude, the guts to stand up to terrorists or the values needed to be president. George Bush, on the other hand, has proven he has these attributes and can handle the job.